All On My Own
by CheesePie
Summary: Just a short little story about the ways Sasuke makes Naruto's life just a little bit sweeter every day. fluff ahead. slight SasuNaru yaoi but nothing strong.


**Um... well the idea for this just came to me and i thought ****_eh, what the hell_**** and so i wrote it. it's AU (where Sasuke didn't leave the village, among other changes but that's not important dammit!) and when they're about... i'm going to say 14 or 15.**

**Warning: Shounen-Ai/Yaoi and slight fluff ahead**

**Disclaimer: I don't own sadly or Sasuke WOULD HAVE STAYED.**

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_ALL ON MY OWN_

Naruto was used to it; to being alone. He had been that way since he was a small child and his life showed no signs of changing since everybody around him seemed to hold a personal grudge against him. For whatever reason, Naruto had always remained cheerful and optimistic as he went through his life alone.

He would wake up alone in his small, dark apartment, sometimes from dreams he wished would last forever. He was accustomed to the dark but his heart craved warmth and light.

He would eat alone, a quick meal thrown together from whatever was found in the fridge – nothing compared to what he believed a mother's cooking would taste like – before rushing to school. Alone.

Naruto was often left with very little time before the bell would ring and it was no accident either; though he could handle cruel comments and glares from the villagers, Naruto found that children were much meaner and harder to deal with. He engineered his day so that he didn't have to be confronted so early in the morning.

Making it to class with only moments to spare, he saw most of his classmates already in their seats, picking out a few familiar faces in the crowd to make sure he hadn't forgotten which class he was in – again – but it was hard to mistake that this _was_ in fact his class, as a swarm of fangirls stood surrounding Sasuke as usual, blocking Naruto's own seat.

He pushed past the girls gently and ignored their biting comments; he took his seat directly next to the object of their affection. It was a deep source of shame for Naruto, to know that if he were a girl – or even just a little braver – then he'd be one amongst the swarm. But he was content for now with just sitting beside the Uchiha, knowing that the girls had to sit elsewhere.

"Dobe," Sasuke's voice was low and uncaring.

"Teme," Naruto replied quietly, smiling slightly.

It was their own little routine, their way of saying hello, Naruto supposed and he was happy with it since it was more than any of the girls got. It was also, unfortunately, the most _positive_ social activity he would receive that morning, or any morning.

As he expected, he was yelled at by the teacher for not completing his homework – how was he supposed to complete it when he lacked parental or peer support? – and again for passing notes when in fact a note had been passed to him, he didn't know who from but the content was less than nice. It was just one of those things he had to deal with.

Class was a bore, as usual, there was a lot of written work and Naruto found he couldn't quite keep up as his teacher ran out of space and began erasing the work; Naruto was the only one who protested. Naturally, the work was erased. Now he wouldn't have the notes which would most likely be needed for their homework tonight and history would repeat itself.

Throwing his pencil down, Naruto groaned and lay his head on the desk; resigning himself to his fate he felt it might be a good idea to get a few moments extra sleep before the teacher caught on and kept an extra close eye on him. Another daily routine that Naruto found himself stuck in.

But, today wasn't like the other days it seemed, as instead of the harsh, angry voice of the teacher waking him up, Naruto found himself woken by a small but firm voice, "dobe," and a small pile of papers being placed on his desk, full of the notes he hadn't been quick enough to copy down.

When Naruto looked up to thank the boy beside him, he found Sasuke staring straight ahead at the board as though nothing had happened.

Strange.

The next day was no more normal then Monday had been.

It started semi-normal; Naruto woke up alone, had breakfast alone and got to school with moments to spare. He sat beside Sasuke, exchanged their usual, almost cold hello before class began and Naruto actually had homework to hand in, courtesy of the Uchiha's notes and therefore was not yelled at, but rather praised by his teacher.

Enjoying the feeling of positive attention, rather than being scolded, he tried his best to keep up with the classes pace and with this extra encouragement, was actually able to finish faster than anyone else. The day was going good so far, which was rare.

It wasn't until morning break, that things picked up at their usual pace and routine broke out again.

Bullies, Naruto had them, many of them. He could hold his own in a fair fight, certainly, there was no doubt about that but it was never a fair fight for him. And he could only hope as he was approached in an almost empty hall – he had hoped to avoid this by leaving class last – that he wouldn't be hurt too severely.

He would never run away from a fight, not even one where he was sure to lose, it just wasn't in his nature so he stayed put and stared the boys down, taking a defensive stance. But, before the first punch could be thrown, it was all broken up by a single, cold declaration;

"Leave him alone."

The boys looked up and Naruto froze, instantly recognizing Sasuke's voice. A few moments later, one of the boys turned to the other and said, "come-on let's get out of here, he's not worth it."

Only a few seconds later, Naruto was still frozen and watched as Sasuke walked right past him and out of the hall without saying a word or even sparing him a second glance.

Strange.

Wednesday was another different day, worse than the past two days.

Morning routine was the same, no need to repeat it.

He handed in his homework in class, copied down the notes in record time and was left alone by bullies in the hall. It seemed a strange new routine had been developing as of late and he was almost eager to see the next way his day would be changed.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened, however, until lunchtime.

He sat alone as usual at a spot outside, beneath a tree while everyone else ate inside. Someone once said to him that his very presence ruined the meal and being a big enjoyer of food, Naruto decided to eat outside, so as not to disturb anyone. Probably a symptom of low self-esteem, he realized but didn't care as he knew it was probably something he had anyway.

He felt a familiar presence beside him as he ate his lunch and turned his head ever so slightly to see Sasuke sitting beside him. The Uchiha didn't even look up and acted as though he were alone, not saying a word the entire time and when the bell rang he got up silently and went back to class.

Strange.

Thursday's change was closer to home, literally.

Naruto woke up to a knock on his door and tiredly went to answer it.

"Teme, what do you want?" he complained, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Time for school," the boy said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Naruto stood there dumbstruck for a few moments, possibly floating off back to sleep before Sasuke's voice brought him back, "well, are you going to get dressed or did you forget how?"

Naruto growled, "You're a real jerk in the mornings," he grit out.

Sasuke only smirked.

He got ready as fast as he could after that, grabbing an apple for breakfast instead of wasting time making something he wasn't going to enjoy anyway. He rushed outside ready to walk to school with Sasuke.

The boy didn't say anything, didn't look at Naruto or anything, he just fell into step with the blond and led them to school.

Strange.

Friday was everything at once.

Sasuke got to his house before his alarm clock woke him up.

He handed in homework and copied all notes.

He was left alone by the bullies.

He ate lunch with Sasuke.

After school, Sasuke waited for him and the two began their walk home.

"Teme?" Naruto asked after a while, deciding that since it was the weekend and he wouldn't have to leave his apartment for the next two days if this went badly, he might as well give it a shot.

"Hm?"

"How come you've been so… _nice_ lately?"

Out of the corner of his cerulean eyes, Naruto saw the Uchiha smirk.

"Dobe," he said, almost affectionately, "you're not the only one who's alone."

They had reached Naruto's apartment door now and Sasuke reached out to grab his hand, "I just thought maybe, we could be alone together."

"b-but doesn't that mean –"

Naruto was cut off by shock when Sasuke placed a chaste kiss on his cheek and whispered, "Don't think too hard about it."


End file.
